IBM Patents to Aid Open-source Projects

　　IBM announced on Tuesday that it was making 500 of its software patents freely available to anyone working on open-source projects, like the popular Linux operating system, on which programmers collaborate and share code.

　　The announcement represents a shift away from the traditional corporate approach to protecting ownership of ideas through patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade-secret laws. The conventional practice is to amass as many patents as possible and then charge anyone who wants access to them.

　　International Business Machines has long been the champion of that formula. The company collected $1 billion or more last year from licensing its inventions, analysts estimate.

　　The move comes after a lengthy internal review by IBM - which has more patents than any other company in the world - of its strategy toward intellectual property. IBM executives said the patent donation on Tuesday would be the first of several such steps.

　　IBM may be redefining its intellectual-property strategy, but it apparently has no intention of slowing the pace of its patent activity. IBM was granted 3,248 patents in 2004, far more than any other company, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

　　IBM executives say the company's new approach to intellectual property represents more than a rethinking of where IBM's self-interest lies. In recent speeches, for example, Samuel Palmisano, chief executive, has emphasized the need for more open technology standards and collaboration as a way to stimulate economic growth and job creation.

　　On this issue, IBM appears to be siding with a growing number of academics and industry analysts who regard open-source software projects as early evidence of the wide collaboration and innovation made possible by the Internet, providing opportunities for economies, companies and individuals who can exploit the new model.